


close calls

by rexcorvidae



Series: assorted fallout drabbles [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Serious Injuries, Surgery, john just wants them to be safe, nick is too old for this shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 16:12:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15933947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexcorvidae/pseuds/rexcorvidae
Summary: Nick has always known that Nora would do whatever was necessary to protect the people she loved. That doesn't mean he has to like the consequences.John just wants his lovers home safe.





	close calls

**Author's Note:**

> eyyy first fo4 fic! i love grandpa toaster his high raisin boyfriend.

Judging by the steady _beeps_ coming from the super-mutant’s bomb, Nick figured he had about 30 more seconds to live. Maybe a little less, if the suicider after him was faster than Nick gave him credit for, and there was even the possibility he’d get _extraordinarily_ lucky and something else would catch the mutant’s interest long enough for him to slip out of the alleyway he’d been cornered in.

Somehow though, Nick doubted it - he was pretty sure the bulk of his luck had been used up the day Nora showed up in that vault, with a face off a pre-war billboard, a suppressed pistol in hand, and a monster of a dog at her heels, asking for _his_ help.

Nick allowed himself a smile at the memory as he tucked himself between a dumpster and a wall. At close range, it wouldn’t do much to block the blast, but if he was lucky it would protect his memory and CPU, and from there maybe Amari could… well, he wasn’t sure _what_ exactly Amari could do, but it made him feel a little better about waiting in an alleyway for his death.

_20 seconds_ he thought to himself, and then he heard something that made his heart catch in his throat.

 “Hey ugly!” The mutant turned around and started forward, and as he emerged out from behind the dumpster he saw her. Nora. He had lost her in the fight a little while ago and judging by the blood soaking her right pant leg, she’d taken some damage.

 “I could kick your ass, you big fucker!” she yelled, “Humans over mutants forever!”

_She’s trying to kill me_ Nick thought. That’s all this could be. She was an Institute synth, and standing in place as she taunted out a mutant suicider was an experiment for them to see how much terror he could handle before his fucking systems shut down.

 The mutant howled with rage and his curious approach turned into a full-on sprint towards her.

 “Are you _insane?_ Run!”

She looked in his direction, but not at him, with an odd, appraising look on her face. It took him a second too long to figure out what she was doing, and when he did he could have _killed_ her. Because it was only _after_ she’d judged that the suicider was a safe enough distance away from him that she started to run, and by then that terrible, _awful_ internal voice of his said, _10 seconds._

Her leg was definitely injured, he noted numbly. She was putting some distance between her and the mutant, but not _enough_ , and even after a few seconds he could see that the sprint was starting to wear on her.

This whole time he’d felt frozen, glued to the spot, and it was only when he saw her stumble that he found feeling in his legs again. As with many things in Nick’s life, it was too little, too late.

He’d barely made any progress towards her before the force of the super-mutant’s bomb knocked him to the ground.

As he sat up, he tried desperately to see through the cloud of settling dust, fear gripping his chest as he waited to see her emerge stumbling and grinning out of the haze, invincible as always.

“Nora?” he called hoarsely, “Nora, can you hear me?”.

There was no response, and he tried to keep the frantic, desperate fear building in his chest at bay, because he _really_ needed to be Nick The Detective right now, and not "Nick the man who got the woman he loved killed". She needed him. He didn’t bother to step over the remains of the mutant’s body as he looked around, scanning the ground for a hint of auburn hair against the dust, for _some_ sign of her. 

He took a deep breath, an old habit that still calmed him enough to focus. _Look. Listen_. He was a goddamned _detective_ , he knew how to find people, he just had to-

There.

A soft groan, just a little way ahead of him on the right, and yes, _yes,_ she was there, lying flat on the concrete, moving her legs weakly and as he ran to her he reminded himself that _dead people don’t move, Nick, they don’t groan, she’s alive, she's alive_.

His relief left him when he got a closer look at her. Her leg was still bleeding, and she was frighteningly pale, but the thing that concerned him most was the two large, ugly pieces of metal shrapnel sticking out of her abdomen. For a moment he was paralyzed. He wasn’t a _doctor_ for fuck’s sake, and if he did something wrong he could _kill her_ but if he didn’t do _anything_ then she was going to, she was going to-

No. He took another deep breath and tried to focus. He couldn’t fix her, but he could get her stable enough to get out of here and get her to someone who _could_. Goodneighbor wasn’t far and there wasn’t a doctor in the Commonwealth he trusted more than Amari. And, hell, he’d be lying if he said that seeing John again after all this wouldn’t do some good for his nerves.

Below him, she let out a soft cough and opened her eyes. “Nicky? You okay?”

_Jesus,_ he thought, _this might be my fucking breaking point_ , because _of course_ she would ask that. She was bleeding out on the _fucking street_ and she was asking him if _he’s okay_.

“Do you have any idea how incredibly _stupid_ that was?” he snapped venomously.

And fuck him, she _c_ _huckled_ , because of _course_ she did, and if the blood it brought to her lips didn’t scare him so much he would have screamed at her for it. “I couldn’t let the ‘Wealth lose their best detective, could I?”

Her voice had a glib tone that he didn’t trust himself to respond to, so he ignored her question in favor of slipping off his trench coat and pressing it to her thigh to slow the bleeding, using his belt to tie it into place.

“Stimpacks,” he bit out, “We need stimpacks, where’s your…”

He trailed off, remembering the previous day's events with mounting horror.

They had gone off to help a settlement with a den of Yao Gui’s that had been getting bold enough (or hungry enough) to start trying to take out their brahmin. By the time they’d gotten there, someone had already been hurt. A _kid,_ barely 12 years old, out gathering Hubflower, had gotten his shoulder shredded by the Gui’s claws, and 2 ribs broken in his desperate attempt to flee. When she heard, Nora’s face hardened, and she methodically emptied her bag of Stimpacks, handing them over to the kid’s father while ignoring Nick’s concerned look.

_I’ll restock tomorrow_ , she’d assured him, _maybe we can drop by Goodneighbor, give John a little surprise_. And he hadn’t liked it, but well, it was _Nora_. He knew better than to put himself between her and a kid in need.

“Guess we should have restocked sooner, huh? You’re gonna- _ah_ , that fucking hurts - you’re gonna ruin your jacket that way Nicky. Ellie’s gonna…”

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice trailing off.

“Nora? Hey, come on, stay with me doll.” He grabbed her face, trying to shake her awake, but she didn’t respond. “No, _no_ , come on Nor, don’t do this to me doll, _come on_.”

That desperation from earlier crept back as his fingers found her pulse, weak and thready, but  _t_ _here_. He knew he couldn’t move her without hurting her, would probably do more damage, but he had to get her out of there _now_.

He picked her up and forced himself to ignore her pained groan - every move made the metal spikes shift, finding new purchase in her stomach, and he tried to block out her pained cries as he sprinted towards Goodneighbor, practically crushing her against his chest.

She would make it, she would be okay. She _had_ to be.

 

* * *

 

John sighed as he turned to the stack of paperwork next to him. He was done with meetings today, thank _god_ , but he had a stack of papers to sort through - business ledgers from local businesses that he had the absolute _joy_ of cross referencing with caravan inventories, so he could decide if adding a few new caravans to the trade route to Goodneighbor was worth hiring the extra manpower to protect them.

God, he missed travelling. He missed _Nick and Nora_. He knew, logically, that the work he was doing right now was important - if for no other reason than because Fahr slammed it down in front of him with a frankly _menacing_ glare, and she only broke that out when she was serious about getting something done - but it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as taking out a raider camp or rescuing a kidnapped settler.

It had been almost two months since they had last traveled together. That wasn’t unusual - Nora was plenty busy between the Minutemen and the Railroad - but maybe if he was lucky she would drop by soon and they all could get out on the road again. As he reached across his desk for a tin of Mentats he heard the gate to Goodneighbor open and a familiar, gravelly voice yell “I need some help over here, _now!_ ”

Later, when he wasn’t so fucking terrified, John would laugh about it, because Nora’s timing continued to be fucking impeccable. In the moment, though, there wasn’t much to laugh about. Because in the moment he was looking over the balcony to see Nick clutching Nora to his chest, blood bright red on his shirt, and Nora limp in his arms.

“Get her up here, Nicky!” he shouted down. “Fahr, get Amari over here _now_.” By the time he finished saying it she was already halfway down the stairs and out the door. He crossed the room and cleared off a table, then started rummaging around looking for anything useful. Cartons of purified water, clean cloths, chems, (as many fucking chems as he could find, for Nora and for _him_ ).

When Nick came through the door it was almost a relief to have something to focus on other than raw worry. “Put her down over here.”

Nick didn’t respond, crossing the room in long strides before putting her down with surprising gentleness. When he got a better look at her, he saw why. _Fuck_. He had seen Nora pretty beat up before, had half-carried her back to a settlement more than once, but he’d never seen her this bad.

All the color was gone from her face, making the blood on her lips and around her mouth stand out starkly. She shivered despite the warm room, and when Nick put his hand on her shoulder in comfort she opened her eyes, looking around with a glazed, sleepy expression.

It might have actually been cute if he wasn’t so goddamned _scared_. Nick had set to work on untying his jacket from around her leg, but Hancock’s eyes were glued to her stomach. To the twisted, painful looking pieces of metal that jutted out proudly, glinting in the afternoon sun.

“Nicky, what _happened_ to her?” His voice was weak, and he could feel his hands trembling like he needed a hit.

“There was a suicider” Nick responded numbly. “She-”

“What happened?” Dr. Amari strode in, looking worried but bearing a confidence that John envied. She paused as she stood over Nora, her face unreadable as she took in her injuries, and for a horrible moment John expected her to say, “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.”

She didn’t, though. God fucking bless her, she put her bag down on the floor next to the table and picked up a pair of scissors to start cutting through Nora’s blood-soaked pants. He winced when he saw the bullet wound in her thigh, and the amount of blood made the air smell coppery.

(Fahr told him, once, how much blood was in a human body, another odd and intimidating piece of trivia she’d collected. He couldn’t remember how much it was, but suddenly it felt very, _very_ important that he did.)

“Oh, _sunshine_ ” he said, mostly to himself.

The nickname made her open her eyes, and when they found him she gave him a half-there, dopey smile. “John?” she croaked, and _god_ , if hearing her say his name didn’t do something to him, even now. He forced a smile, tried to look confident and calm.

“Hey there gorgeous,” he said, kneeling down on the so he was next to her head, “you trying to make me go feral or something?”

It was a bad joke, but she laughed anyway, a weak chuckle that turned into a painful sounding cough.

“Hush,” he whispered soothingly, running a hand through her sweaty hair “You’re okay darlin’, you’re gonna be just fine, just stay with us alright?”

She turned to look for Nick, but she caught sight of the shrapnel still sticking out of her stomach and she tensed under John’s hands as her breathing started to quicken.

Nick saw it before he did, and his good hand was on her arm in an instant, gently but firmly keeping it on the table. “Easy there, sweetheart, you’re okay, just don’t move too much”

“ _Nick,_ ” Her voice took on an uncharacteristic whine laced with no small amount of panic, “Nick I have to get them _out_ of me, they _hurt_ , I have to-”

“Nora,” Amari said, her voice firm, “I need you to relax. We’re going to get the shrapnel out very soon, but I need to close the wound on your leg first.”.

Nora didn’t seem to hear, and she started to move her free arm towards her stomach.

“Hancock _hold her_ ” Amari snapped.

John blanched at that, but hesitantly did as he was told, muttering reassurances as he did so. “Doc, can’t you just get them out of her if they’re freaking her out this bad? That’s gotta be better than her thrashing around, right?”

Surprisingly, it was Nick who spoke up first, face pinched with worry.

“She could bleed out, John” he said, sharply, but not unkindly, “The shrapnel is slowing the blood flow for now, but if we take it out with her leg still bleeding…”

He trailed off, letting John fill in the blanks for himself. John’s mouth set into a grim line as he nodded and adjusted his grip on Nora’s arm.

From her position beside Nora’s legs, Amari frowned. “I’m going to have to remove the bullet before I can give her a stimpack. Nick, I’m going to need you to hold her legs. Hancock keep her arms still.”

John moved so he was right behind Nora, putting his hands on her upper arms and tried not to feel like he was pinning her down. “It’s okay sunshine, I got you. Just stay still for us, okay?”

Nora moved her head with increasing desperation, her eyes glassy and far away. “What- What are you doing, what are you _doing_ , I-” Her protests broke into a wail as Amari began to dig the bullet out. John felt like he might throw up, and he looked over to Nick to see that the synth wasn’t faring much better.

“Shhh,” he comforted uselessly, “You’re alright darling, you’re doing great, we’re here, we’re right here, just hold on for us, okay?”

With a satisfied grunt Amari pulled the bullet out and jammed a stimpack into Nora’s thigh. “She’ll still need stitches, but hopefully this will slow the bleeding.”

Nora’s panic began to subside, but she still didn’t look good. Sweat shone on her forehead, and her eyes had a glazed, fevered look to them as they darted around the room restlessly.

Amari looked at her, and the crease between her brows did little to assuage John’s fears. She didn’t say anything but took a steadying breath as she reached into her bag to retrieve a small bundle of thread and a familiar curved needle. Her eyes flashed between John and Nick regretfully. “Be ready to hold her down. This is going to hurt.”

 

* * *

 

 

4 hours. 4 _fucking_ hours of holding down the woman he _loved_ as she screamed in pain. Amari hadn’t wanted to give her Med-X, something about her blood volume and heart rate, and John was sure that later, once the sound of Nora’s cries weren’t so fresh in his memory, he would appreciate her caution.

Now, though? It was hard to muster anything but anger and frustration towards the doctor at the thought of her calmly stitching Nora’s wounds, seemingly oblivious to her pain.

They were done, though. Nora was stitched and bandaged and wrapped in blankets on John’s bed, looking pale and feverish but undoubtedly _alive_ , and John found himself looking over at her as he helped Amari clean up, just to remind himself that she was there.

“She’ll be pretty out of it for the next six hours or so, and it’s going to take a week or two for her to recover enough to get back out in the field. I gave her a small dose of Med-X to help her relax, but I should be able to increase the dosage over the next few days. _Make sure_ she’s eating properly - she’s going to need calories and electrolytes if she’s going to replace the blood volume she’s lost. Keep her laying down, especially over the next 12 hours, and monitor her for any sign of infection. I’ll be back to check on her tomorrow morning, but in the meantime, keep an eye out for any excessive bleeding, fever, et cetera.”

John nodded, trying not to feel overwhelmed. Nora was alive, that was all that mattered. He could handle whatever instructions and rules Amari threw at him if it meant keeping her that way. “Thanks, doc. How much do I owe you?”

Amari paused for a second. “Just the replacement costs. How about… 75 caps.” John frowned. Even for replacement costs, 75 caps was _cheap_.

“No way doc,” he argued, “You were here for 4 hours, that’s ridiculous.”

She sighed at him. “You know, Hancock, most people would be thrilled to take an offer like that. Fine. 120 caps to replace the chems and the sutures. I won’t take anything for the time though.”

She glanced over John’s shoulder at Nora, and a look of fondness he hadn’t noticed before crept over her face. “The service is on the house.”

It never ceased to amaze him, the effect Nora had on people. She did good like it was a part of her DNA, not doing it for praise, or money, or power, but just because, as she told him once, “someone has to do it”.

Like it was just that simple. There were times when that simple optimism terrified him, because if there’s one thing he’d learned from his life, it was that people were selfish. It wasn’t their fault – you had to be selfish to survive in a world like this, but when he first met her he noted with some sadness that another month in the wastes would suck all that sweet optimism right out of her.

Instead, though, the wastes surprised him. _She_ surprised him, which he would get used to the more time he spent around her. He had watched her negotiate trades between settlements, convinced settlers that were hardened by years of barely scraping by, that _maybe_ it was worth it to trust each other and make both of their lives easier. Those settlers looked at her with the same kind of fondness Amari did.

He felt bad, suddenly, for his anger towards her earlier. If she hadn’t stitched Nora up she would have _died_ , plain and simple. Maybe John didn’t like seeing Nora in pain, but it was better than seeing her dead, wasn’t it?

“Hey, doc,” he said, stopping her, “Seriously. Thank you. If you hadn’t gotten here…” He didn’t want to finish the thought.

“I didn’t do it for you” she responded, not unkindly. She fixed Nora’s sleeping form with the same look from earlier. “That woman has a big future ahead of her.”

“Don’t I know it.” John muttered, half to himself.

 Nick was still next to her, John noted with a sad smile. There had been a moment, a terrible moment, while John was watching Amari stitch Nora’s wounds, where Nora’s eyes rolled back in her head and she went totally limp under his hands.

Nick saw it first, let out a strangled yell that John had never heard from him before.

“We’re losing her, doc, _no,_ Nora, _please_ –”

Amari looked up and said “ _Shit._ ” in a way that inspired _no_ confidence, and for a second just bit her lip and frowned at Nora in a way that made John go cold. Before he could open his mouth to yell at her to _just do something, please, we can’t lose her, I can’t lose her_ she seemed to make a decision, though one she evidently wasn’t happy about judging by the way she cursed as she dug through her bag and pulled out a familiar looking syringe. Psycho.

She jammed the syringe into Nora’s chest before either man could react and for about 3 seconds Nora laid there, totally still, while John’s thoughts melted into a cacophony of _nonononono_. Then, she jolted up, pupils wide and frantic, gasping for air and shaking like a leaf but _alive_ , and John let out a hoarse laugh at the sheer relief he felt.

Nick had stayed dead silent, though, and his glowing yellow eyes hadn’t left her face since then. When Amari had finally finished, and they moved her into John’s bed, he hadn’t even looked up as they left the room, just kept her hand in his good one, watching her like she might disappear if he turned away.

When the door closed behind Amari, John let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He needed some fucking Jet. He hadn’t taken any since this whole nightmare started. Part of it was not wanting to leave Nora’s side, even for a second, but if he’s honest, part of it was the thought of Nick’s face when he saw him get up to take a hit while Nora might be _dying_. John could deal with a hell of a lot of judgement from most people but Nick...  Nick was a special case.

He pressed down on the inhaler and closed his eyes as he felt the world become a little softer, a little warmer. He opened his eyes, and through that haze he saw Nick, the cherry of his cigarette burning in one hand, Nora’s smaller hand in the other. And god, but wasn’t he beautiful?

Nick didn’t see it – _couldn’t_ see it, maybe - but he _was_ , all smooth lines on a lithe frame, warm yellow eyes glowing like a beacon, and god help him, that _smile_. John had never stood a chance against the two of them.

Nick wasn’t smiling now, though. He was smoking like a chimney, his face set in that tight-mouthed grimace he got when he was getting stuck in his own head, a small furrow forming between his brows.

“You’re thinking _real_ hard over there Nicky,” he said, leaning against the door frame with a smile. “It’s fucking with my high.”

Nick let out a humorless chuckle. “Yeah, god forbid.” The response was familiar, but it lacked its usual bite. His head was a thousand miles away, and all John wanted was to pull him back _here_.

He crossed the room, sitting next to Nick on the couch he’d dragged over by the bed and stole the cigarette from his metal hand. “Hey,” he said, voice softer than before, “she’s alright. It was a close one, but she’s gonna be okay. Amari says if you hadn’t gotten her here as fast as you did… You saved her life, Nicky. You know that, right?”

He had intended for his words to offer some comfort, but they seemed to do the opposite as Nick got up from the couch and started to pace in front of the bed.

“It was… the suicider… _fuck_ , John, she did it to save _me_.”

Nick said the last part like it was _ridiculous_ , like she had done it to save a _deathclaw_ , and it made John’s chest hurt.

“I was cornered in an alley, figured I had maybe 30 seconds, and then I hear her yell “Hey stupid, get over here!” or something and she just-”

Nick’s shoulders hunched as he slouched tiredly, air coming out in a huff. “What the hell was she _thinking_?”

In a moment of anger Nick kicked the leg of the dresser next to him. The noise made Nora stir briefly, before settling back into sleep, and Nick looked at her like he’d just been gutted.

“ _Nicky_ ,” John started, failing to keep the pity out of his voice, “This,” he said, gesturing to Nora, “this isn’t your fault.”

Nick walked back over to the couch, practically collapsing into it when he sat, and put a hand to his forehead. “If she had _died_ , John,” he whispered raggedly, “if she had died to save _me_ \- ”

“ _Hey_ ,” John interrupted, leaning closer to take both of Nick’s hands into his own “Hey, hey, hey, don’t start thinking like that Nicky. She’s okay, she made it, and if she _hadn’t_ -”

He faltered. He couldn’t lie to Nick, not about the important things.

“If she _hadn’t_ it would have broken _my fucking heart_ , but I would have never blamed _you_ , because what she did out there? That was _her_ decision, and I guaran-fucking-tee you that even if she had died, she would do it again in a second.”

He put his forehead against Nick’s, relishing the feel of his smooth skin under his own. “But I don’t wanna fucking talk about what-ifs, okay? Because _right now_? She’s alive, and she’s gonna be okay, and if she wakes up and sees you feeling bad about this she’s gonna kick _both_ our asses, alright?”

Nick smiled at that, a real smile and god damn if it didn't make John feel like he just won the lottery every time he saw it. _One day_ , he thought idly, _one day we’re gonna convince him how much we love his smile_.

And he couldn’t help himself, hadn’t realized until now how much he needed the feeling of someone else’s hands on him, and he leaned in to press a kiss to Nick’s smiling face, his thoughts fading into a hazy loop of _luckiest fucking ghoul in the world_. 

A weak chuckle came from the bed, and they broke away to see Nora looking at them blearily with a smirk on her face. “Don’t mind me boys,” she quipped, “just admiring the view.” She gave John a clumsy wink, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hey, sunshine,” he said, leaning over to grab her hand, “you and Nicky trying to give me a heart attack or something?” 

“Perhaps,” she responded with false gravity. “The greatest coup of the century.” John laughed at that, and she did to, until it turned into a wince “Fuck. Fuck, laughing hurts.”

John sat next to her on the bed, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Easy there darlin’. Amari said you’re gonna be hurting for a while.”

Nick was sitting stock-still on the couch like he was frozen to the spot, looking at her like he couldn’t quite believe she was real. Her eyes found him, and her pained grimace slid into a smile. “Nicky” she said, “where’s - oh, your _coat_. Ellie’s gonna _kill you_."

He let out a chuckle that sounded almost like a sob and moved over to the other side of the bed in a few long strides. “ _You’re_ gonna kill me if you do something that reckless again”, he snapped as he sat on her other side. Then, a little softer, “I’m way too old to go on another vengeance quest, doll.”

“I don’t think a vengeance quest against a mutant suicider would be very rewarding,” she said with a smirk. Nick’s face slid into a mixture of shock and anger, but before he could open his mouth to lecture her, Nora grabbed his arm. “ _But_ ,” she added with a placating hand on his arm, “I appreciate the sentiment. I’m really sorry I scared you, Nicky.”

Nick let out a huff, and John watched with some amusement as he struggled to stay annoyed with her. “Just- don’t do something like that again, okay?” He said finally. “My parts can be replaced doll, yours can’t.”

She let out a little hum of acknowledgement, but didn’t say anything, and John thought with a wry smile, _you know she doesn’t make promises she won’t keep, Nicky_. Nick leaned back on the bed, his arm wrapping around her as his good hand gave John’s shoulder a grounding squeeze, and for a moment John just _looked_ at them. Nora was shifting carefully, Nick helping her, and she turned so her head was on John’s chest, one arm reaching out to pull Nick closer. Breathless, he took in the pair of them and thought _I must have been a fucking saint in my last life, because there’s nothing I’ve ever done to deserve this_. 

Unaware of John’s reverie, Nora reached slyly for Nick’s newly lit cigarette, which he pulled deftly out of her reach. “No way, doll” he said without sympathy, “No chems until Dr. Amari approves them. At least, no fun ones.”

“ _Boo_ ” she whined with false petulance.

Nick raised an eyebrow at her. “4 years of law school, eh? Eloquent. I can see why Preston chose you be the figurehead of the Minutemen.”

At the mention of Preston all the mirth drained from her face, as she started frantically fiddling with dials on her Pip-boy.

“ _Shit_ ,” she muttered, “I totally forgot, I’m supposed to meet with Preston at the Castle tomorrow morning to go over trade routes, and I was supposed to stop by Tenpines to see what’s wrong with their generator and-” She looked up, scanning the room, “Where’s my bag? I _think_ I picked up the part they need but I have to get it out of a fucking typewriter first, and-”

She started to lean forward to rise, and John stifled a groan because he shouldn’t be surprised, really. Barely awake after nearly _dying_ and she was already back to trying to save the whole fucking world. He put his hand on her shoulder to stop her, confident that Nick’s hand would be on the other.

“No way, sunshine,” he said, “you’re on bedrest until Amari gives you the all clear. Now, if you’re _good_ , I’ll bring you that typewriter and a screwdriver and you can- _hey!_ ” He hadn’t expected her to be able to _hit_ so fucking hard, but apparently, she was willing to use her limited energy on the important things.

“Don’t _patronize_ me, John” she snapped, in her I-Am-The-General-Of-The-Minutemen voice. “I have a job to do, and-”

“ _Nora_ ,” Nick said softly, and something in his voice made her stop and look up at him, giving him a terse nod to continue, “We’ll send word to Preston, but you aren’t going _anywhere_. The amount of blood you lost- you’ll be lucky if you can even stand up without passing out. You’re staying here, and that’s not me being protective, doll, that’s a _fact_.”

She worried at her lip with her teeth, the little furrow forming between her brows telling John that Nick might just have convinced her. She closed her eyes and let out a little huff. “ _Fine._ But we need to send word to Preston right away, and for _god’s_ sake, don’t tell him what happened. He’d just gonna run over here to fuss over me and _something_ tells me,” she added, shooting both of them a look, “I’m gonna have enough of that as it is.”

Nick raised his eyebrows, unmoved. “So, as general, your official order is for us to lie to your second in command?”

She groaned and rolled her eyes at him. “Okay, don’t _lie_ , just don’t…”

“Tell him that you lost so much blood that you can’t stand up?” John added helpfully.

“Yeah,” she sighed tiredly, leaning back onto the pillow, “Yeah, maybe leave that part out.”

Like an _idiot,_ John thought that she might actually be giving in and getting some fucking _rest_ for once, but just as soon as she closed her eyes they snapped open again, and she went back to fiddling with her Pip-boy. “Wait, there was something else, something from Sturges…”

Nick sighed dramatically, and in a deft, practiced motion unclipped her Pip-boy and set it on the table next to him. “It’ll _keep_ , doll.”

“Fine,” she huffed, already laying back and resting her head against Nick’s side, “then _you_ can listen to the lecture from Preston about the importance of communication.”

Nick smiled fondly at her, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “For you? Anytime.”

She had just fallen asleep, with John not far behind, when the soft violin music emanating from her Pip-boy was interrupted. “Alert, alert! One of our settlements is in trouble! All Minutemen, report to-”

Before the announcer could tell them the location of the latest spot that needed saving, Nick’s hand was on the Pip-boy, adjusting the dial so Travis’s soft, nervous voice played instead, talking about Piper’s latest article.

Nora raised her head, looking around blearily “Was that-? I thought I heard-?”

John put his arm around her, his hand finding Nick’s hip. “It’s nothing sunshine,” he soothed, “Go back to sleep.” They were _incredibly_ lucky that she was tired enough to not realize that “Uranium Fever” was not the usual fare for Radio Freedom, because instead of arguing, she simply curled up with her back against John’s chest and went back to sleep.

As he drifted off, feeling Nora’s slow, steady breathing against him, looking at Nick’s halcyon eyes glowing in the dim room, he thought, _Yeah. S_ _aving the world can wait._

**Author's Note:**

> so, like i said, this is my first fo4 fic!! i've got more drabbles in various stages of completion, so if you'd be interested in beta-ing for me let me know!!! i'm always looking for another pair of eyes to make sure i'm keeping everyone in character.  
> i just bought the game 3 months ago (because i've been living under a rock), but i love it!!! tell me your favorite factions/characters in the comments


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